Mark Bradford discussed his multi-faceted practice, including the process and concept behind his work. Bradford’s abstractions unite fine art and popular culture, working with the formal principles of painting through the process of de-collage. Materials sourced from the urban environment: remnants of found posters and billboards, graffiti stencils, logos, and hairdresser’s perm papers, to name a few.

Born in Los Angeles, where he continues to live and work, Bradford received both his BFA (1995) and his MFA (1997) from the California Institute for the Arts. He is the recipient of numerous awards including a 2009 MacArthur Fellowship Award, the Bucksbaum Award for his contribution to the Whitney Biennial in 2006, a 2006 USA Fellowship Award, and a 2003 Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award. His works are in the collection of many major institutions including the Broad Museum, Los Angeles; Cincinnati Art Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate, London; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.